Does Your Cadence Really Matter?
The Significance and Practical Insights for Runners
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If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
.jpg)
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
.jpg)
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
.jpg)
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
.jpg)
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
Monday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Tempo
Today we will hold tempo for 2 long blocks and one shorter block. Keep asking yourself if you are running a 7/10 effort during this session.
Tuesday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Sports City
Session: Track Tuesday
This week our over/unders have increased from 800m to 1000m. Paces are the same as last week. This is your chance to run fast with the wider InnerFight Endurance Community and Coaches.
Wednesday
Time: 5:59am & 5:59pm
Location: InnerFight
Session: Ladies Only Intervals
We will be running our intervals around the Olivia apartments this week for 1 loop and then in the park for a shorter loop. Try and pick up the pace on the shorter park loops.
Friday
Time: 5:59am
Location: Kite Beach
Session: The Coffee Run
This week our efforts will build from 4/10 to 7/10 over 3 blocks of builders. You therefore have 3 attempts to hit that 7/10 feeling. We recommend that you do not start off too fast on this one.
Sunday
Time: 5:29am
Location: InnerFight
Session: Long Run
We will be running from InnerFight this Sunday. There are various options from 15km to 35km depending on which races you have coming up. If you would rather run for time, that is also fine! Routes will be shared in WhatsApp and on TrainingPeaks.
We will kick the week off on Monday with heavy single-leg work and move on to a fast interval workout. Tuesday is about the sandbags with a tough set of EMOMs followed by a partner workout. Wednesday, we have more focus on our strict pull-ups and then a gymnastics and running-based workout. Thursday, we will hit some technical work on a clean complex and follow it up with some heavy clean singles, followed by a tough and fast-paced workout with rowing cleans and wall balls. Friday, we finish the week with some heavy Jerks in the skill and then a gruelling chipper.
Monday:
Strength:
Walking Dumbell Lunges
Conditioning:
In a 2 min window
25 KB Sumo deadlift (2x24/16)
Amrap DU
rest 2 mins
In a 2 min window
16 Weighted Box Step Ups 1 x KB 24/16
AMRAP Cals Bike
rest 2 mins
x3
Tuesday:
Strength:
Building Weight Sandbag To Shoulder
Conditioning:
In Pairs
100 sandbags to shoulder (80/50)
Every 4 mins
1 car park lap farmers carry 2 x 32/24
Wednesday:
Strength:
A) Strict Pull Ups
B) KB Push Press + Pull Ups + Side Plank
Conditioning:
16 min amrap
Pool Run
10 burpee pull-ups
3 wall walks
Thursday:
Strength:
A) Clean Pull + Hang Squat Clean + Front Squat
B) Squat Clean
Conditioning:
For time:
500/400m row
30 squat clean (60/40)
50 WallBalls
Friday:
Strength:
A) Push Jerk
Conditioning:
It's an awesome triplet to end the week! Therapyyyyy!
ENGINE
Working on holding our MIKKOS score calories for longer blocks of time.
GYMNASTICS
This week, we will focus on rope climbing, doubleunders, and handstand push-ups in gymnastics. We will focus on the skill elements to help you with these movements! Whether you have these movements down or not, this class will help you improve in all these movements so you're ready to attack classes!
HYROX
We start to put together the pieces and do a mini HYROX
MOBILITY
We will go over full-body flow routines focusing on flexibility for full-body alignment.
PURE STRENGTH
In Pure Strength, we start the week with some percentage work on the close grip bench press, followed by heavy rows and a shoulder pump to finish. Wednesday, we worked up to a heavy single on the deadlift, with some tough drop sets followed by some heavy single leg work.
WEIGHTLIFTING
Snatch Focus this week, and we get into over-head squats before working into some Snatch High Pulls and Hang Snatch and then finish with some heavy Snatch singles!
Track Tuesday
Week two of our over/unders block, this week we move to 1km efforts.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session Length: 1 hour
Wednesday Ride
Wednesday ride* 5.59am BOTS. << use links/details from a few months back
4 X 8min at your best effort, what have you got?
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
The Coffee Run
Our classic builders set this week, 5min builds based on effort! A great tempo run.
Start time: 05:59 am
Session length: 1 hour
Location: Common Grounds, Jumeirah Beach Track
Saturday Ride
Back to a long ride today, 105km in the group with some structured intervals to follow.
Start time: 05:59am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: BOTS - https://goo.gl/maps/6AwtJXW8nA45Cy9H8
Sunday long run
Team IFE on Tour are 3 weeks out from the marathon in Munich, so they need to run long. Why not come along and support with some miles to? Message sh@innerfight.com to find out more.
Start time: 05:29am
Session Length: 1 hour
Location: From InnerFight
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
If you are reading this then you are more than likely interested in running. I’d assume you also have an understanding of the term cadence or stride rate (SR) and what it means.
If you don’t then let me break it down. Simply put, cadence is how many times your feet strike the ground per minute when running.
Now, lots of people have heard that 180 is the magic number and will sell their pension schemes to be able to hit that number, but might ask yourself… WHY is it so important?
The relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand
The first time athletes started to pay more attention to their cadence dates back to the 1984 Olympics and Dr Jack Daniels (not the whisky guy……), who noticed that in the track events of longer than 800m, only one athlete had a cadence of less than 180.
Photo by: Joshua Hearnden
There is a relationship between cadence and cardiovascular demand. The higher the cadence, the greater the demand on the cardiovascular system – however you get the benefit of less musculoskeletal stress on the body.
The lower the cadence, the less the demand on the cardiovascular system but the greater the musculoskeletal stress.
A good way to picture this is to think about going for a cycle. If you are in a high gear at slow RPM, you will tire much quicker than someone peddling in a lower gear at a higher RPM at the same speed.
Running cadence in elite athletes
The caveat to this whole cadence discussion is that you need to be properly conditioned to maintain the higher Cadence or RPM. If you are unconditioned, you will not have the cardiovascular fitness to be able to maintain the higher cadence numbers.
Most elite athletes tend to have a short forward stride and long posterior strides whereas we tend to see the opposite being true in recreational runners who over stride and have short posterior strides.
This will create a lower cadence but also generate greater eccentric stress on the hamstrings, elicit less glute activation and cause increased “breaking forces” giving a lower running economy, greater ground reaction forces and with that, an increased risk of injury.
So, should you be targeting 180?
Running cadence: is 180 the ultimate goal?
Not necessarily – There are studies that suggest an element of self-selection, meaning as runners we will naturally select the most efficient stride length and rate for our bio-mechanics based on many factors like weight, conditioning, speed, terrain etc.
From spending a lot of time looking at runners’ cadence, the majority of non-elites have a cadence between 150-170.
Focussing on increasing your fitness and form should come as the first starting point as without good cardiovascular fitness it will be incredibly difficult to maintain a higher cadence (you only need to look at how runners form breaks down in the Dubai Marathon at the 35km mark compared to the 5km mark).
Cadence will naturally increase with increased fitness and form but trying to deviate too much too soon from your “comfort cadence” will be inefficient.
So – If you are already running and have good cardiovascular fitness, looking at cadence numbers could help make improvements. All good running watches track this metric and it can be viewed on screen whilst running or analysed post session.
3 tips to increase cadence when running
Tip #1 – Focus on quick arms
If you run with faster arms, your legs will follow. Focusing on the arms will mean you are not focussing on the legs and give less inclination to over-stride.
Tip #2 – Add high-cadence strides to your training
The best time for this type of training is usually at the end or built into an aerobic run. Perform 8-12 accelerations of about 4-10s concentrating on turning over your legs as fast as you can. This will help your neuromuscular system to create new neural pathways and “learn” how to optimise mechanics at this new cadence.
The goal here is not speed but faster legs. Imagine running on a hot surface, keep the steps smooth and pop off the ground quickly.
Tip #3 – It’s all about balance, so run tall
If your cadence is going to increase then you need to be balanced when running.
Try not to sit back on your heels when you run but instead you should “run tall” – this means keeping your body in a straight line from head to toe. You should have a slight forward lean.
Additionally, you should more than likely work on hip mobility as well as glute activation.
Interested in some one-on-one endurance coaching? Send me an email at rj@innerfight.com.
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